ABSTRACT
These brief examples suggest the range and variation of literacy outside of school walls, images that are in contrast to the daily experiences of many youth as they sit in classrooms. In this chapter, we examine the complex and shifting terrain of literacies beyond classroom and school contexts. Our defi nition of literacy is informed by studies that primarily employ sociocultural lenses to explore literacies as social, multiple, and imbued with the political, cultural, and historical meanings of particular contexts. We also draw on theorizing about literacy as multimodal (engaging multiple modes of expression to communicate meaning) and moving across space and time to frame our discussion of the range of literacy practices that are engaged across contexts.
